Conventional residential and commercial oven appliances generally include a cabinet that defines a cooking chamber for receipt of food items for cooking. Multiple heating elements are positioned within the cooking chamber to provide heat to food items located therein. The heating elements can include, for example, radiant heating elements, such as a bake heating assembly positioned at a bottom of the cooking chamber and/or a separate broiler heating assembly positioned at a top of the cooking chamber.
In addition, conventional oven appliances may include a cooktop positioned on a top panel of the appliance. The cooktop may include multiple heating elements for heating utensils placed thereon, such as electric, induction, or gas burner heating elements. Notably, the large amount of heat generated by the heating elements associated with the cooking chamber and/or the cooktop can be detrimental to the operation of the control electronics and other electronic components. In order to vent some of the heated air present in the cabinet of the cooking appliance, the top panel typically includes one or more vent apertures for discharging heated air.
Although the vent apertures facilitate some cooling of electronic components housed within the cabinet, it is often desirable to have improved features for regulating excessive heat. In addition, managing spills proximate the vent apertures can be a common concern. For example, when liquids within a utensil (e.g., pot) boil over and out of the utensil, the liquids may spill through the vent apertures and into the cabinet. Notably, some appliances include one or more electronic components that are mounted within cabinet, and spilled fluids risk significantly damaging such electronics.
Accordingly, an oven appliance that includes one or more features for managing spills would be useful. More particularly, an oven appliance with features for containing spilled fluids within an area away from sensitive electronic components while regulating excessive heat and keeping electronic components cool and dry would be particularly beneficial.